The sky gradually darkened.
When the Vice Minister of Rites and several royal relatives left the West Warm Pavilion, their facial expressions varied.
Only Prince Ming remained in the hall.
He had a handsome and romantic appearance, in his twenties, but one eye was congenitally blind, always covered diagonally with a flamboyantly colored cloth strip.
After everyone left, the proper appearance Prince Ming had been maintaining instantly disappeared, he crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair.
“Royal brother, I heard that my little nephew has been brought to Zichen Palace by you? Can I go see him?”
Emperor Chongzhao took a sip of the cold tea beside him to moisten his throat.
“Sitting without proper posture, after the new year, you’ll be twenty-eight, and still not settled down.”
Prince Ming pointed at his eye, raising an eyebrow: “With my condition, it might be passed on to descendants, if because of me, the child is born to be pointed at and gossiped about, why bother coming to this world? The human world has more suffering, might as well see more beautiful scenery in the netherworld.”
Head Eunuch Yu slightly raised his eyelids.
Emperor Chongzhao: “Your words seem to have implications, are you hinting at me?”
Prince Ming smiled and said: “Your subject brother just wanted to say, royal brother clearly cares about my little nephew, so be better to him, lest he grows up not close to you.”
Emperor Chongzhao: “For royal fathers and sons, they are first ruler and subject, then father and son, what closeness is there to speak of.” After a pause, he added, “Besides, you haven’t raised a child, you don’t know how clingy little babies can be when they start, it’s simply harder to serve than ancestors.”
Prince Ming keenly detected something from his words, winking: “The old man serves the little one now, so the little one can serve the old man later, it’s not shameful.”
Emperor Chongzhao picked up the brush beside him and threw it, “Tea can’t stop your mouth!”
Prince Ming skillfully dodged.
Emperor Chongzhao kept him for a meal, Prince Ming, due to his physical condition, was born without the possibility of inheriting the throne, the two brothers were born of the same mother and had been very close since childhood.
After finishing the meal and chatting for a while, it was completely dark outside.
Someone came to report from outside, “Your Majesty, Eunuch Ye has sent word that the young prince is fussing about being sleepy.”
Emperor Chongzhao: “Has the fever subsided?”
“No, it keeps coming and going, in the afternoon his spirits seemed fine, after the evening meal he played in the hall for a while, then started to lose energy again.”
Prince Ming was understanding: “Royal brother, you should go quickly, I’ll leave right away, I still need to prepare for what to say at tomorrow’s court. When there’s a chance, I’ll come see my little nephew again.”
Emperor Chongzhao nodded.
After walking two steps, he stopped and raised his arm to smell his sleeve, hesitated for a moment and said: “Forget it, prepare water, I need to bathe.”
He turned his head to look at Prince Ming.
“You don’t know, that child doesn’t resemble me or his mother at all except for his looks, he’s thin and small, and today when I tricked Zhang Fanming, that bit of blood smell on me, he can’t stand at all. He insists that I must hold him to sleep, otherwise he can make a fuss all night.”
Prince Ming: “…”
He hadn’t even asked.
Emperor Chongzhao hurried off, clearly quite concerned. Prince Ming stroked his chin.
Proximity to power brings opportunities.
If he were his royal brother’s youngest son, he would certainly seize this golden opportunity to do something, sparing no effort and using every means to make up for the lack of father-son affection, ensuring that the Emperor cared more and pitied him more.
Only then could he survive well in the imperial city of the capital in the years to come.
But alas, his little nephew was only a little over two years old and couldn’t possibly understand the intricate dynamics of royal family relationships.
—
After bathing and changing clothes, Emperor Chongzhao dried his hair and entered Zichen Palace.
His young son, who had occupied his sleeping quarters all day, was currently lying on the kang table playing with a zao mo (jujube grinder). Two slender bamboo sticks were inserted into two round, plump winter jujubes.
At this time of year, it was rare to find such full and juicy winter jujubes.
Emperor Chongzhao sat at the other end of the kang table. His sudden and silent arrival startled Qu Dubian, causing the bamboo stick he had almost balanced to fall instantly.
Qu Dubian: “…”
He cast a reproachful glance at Emperor Chongzhao.
Emperor Chongzhao felt a bit awkward.
Although he had many children, none required his personal care. He only needed to visit the back palace regularly. Once the children grew older, he would start testing their knowledge. From the eldest prince onward, this had always been the process without exception.
But this child was different.
First, this child was still very young. Second, he was the child of him and Yueqing. Since there was another way to resolve the prophecy, there was no need to send him to the Ju’an Hall or detached palace. This meant they would have to interact as father and son in the future. Third, the young prince’s mother had passed away, and the Imperial Hospital hadn’t thoroughly investigated her death. For now, no suitable concubine could be found in the harem to raise a prince, so Emperor Chongzhao had to take care of him personally for now.
However, after more than two years apart, it was hard to say how much father-son affection existed between them. What he felt most was guilt. On top of that was the rejection of his embrace that night and this child’s distant attitude after waking up—calling him “Your Majesty” instead of “Father Emperor.”
Emperor Chongzhao wanted to ease their relationship but lacked experience in raising children and didn’t know where to start.
He cleared his throat lightly and asked Ye Xiaoyuan: “Didn’t you say he was fussing about being sleepy?”
Ye Xiaoyuan: “He was earlier. But once he started playing with the zao mo, he stopped fussing.”
Qu Dubian’s main intention earlier had been to lure his cheap father over and leave an impression on him so that he could gain some presence in his father’s heart. This way, life in the palace wouldn’t be too difficult for him in the future.
Who would’ve thought that Eunuch Bao would give him such an ancient little toy? Once he started playing with it, it turned out to be quite fun, and he forgot all about acting.
“This little thing is simple,” Emperor Chongzhao said as he picked up the bamboo stick and easily balanced it on one end of a jujube pit. “See? Just practice more.”
Qu Dubian reached out, took down the bamboo stick that Emperor Chongzhao had balanced, removed both ends of jujubes from it, and threw away the bamboo stick entirely.
Since Emperor Chongzhao entered, Qu Dubian hadn’t called him “Father Emperor,” hadn’t bowed in greeting, hadn’t even his butt moved from his spot on the kang table—and now directly dismantled Emperor Chongzhao’s carefully balanced little toy.
This was already extremely disrespectful.
Looking around at all the princes and princesses in the palace, none dared behave like this.
It was only because no one had taught this young prince proper etiquette or how to interact with an emperor that he acted so naturally and boldly.
Head Eunuch Yu didn’t think His Majesty would be angry but figured His Majesty must feel somewhat uncomfortable about it.
Back when they were at the Imperial Kitchen, Qu Dubian had been so eager for a hug. Why did he become so stiff when facing His Majesty?
When Head Eunuch Yu glanced at Emperor Chongzhao’s expression again, it revealed nothing—but his lips had pressed into a slight line.
“Don’t ruin it,” just as Head Eunuch Yu lamented inwardly about how ungraceful Qu Dubian seemed to be handling things, Qu Dubian spoke up. He looked up at Emperor Chongzhao and said: “I once picked up eaten jujubes from the ground before; even spoiled ones were very sweet. These two aren’t spoiled—they must be even sweeter.”
Holding those two jujubes tightly in his hand with an obvious look of hesitation on his face—reluctant yet attached—he finally took one out and handed it over to Emperor Chongzhao.
“For me?” Emperor Chongzhao froze for a moment.
The child tilted his small head away with a soft hum: “It’s a thank-you gift since you didn’t send me away… You’re… kind person.”
Receiving this “kindness card” left Emperor Chongzhao feeling complicated inside. Staring at the jujube in his palm for a long time, he said: “You don’t need to be so polite with me; I am your Father Emperor.”
Qu Dubian replied: “Father Emperor is Father. Father hugs me; Your Majesty doesn’t.”
Emperor Chongzhao understood now—this child was clearly still holding a grudge.
Qu Dubian turned around and threw himself into Ye Xiaoyuan’s arms before sneakily slipping the remaining jujube into Ye Xiaoyuan’s hand. In a small voice, he said: “Ye Banban, this one is for you.”
Then he turned back slightly to sneak a glance at Emperor Chongzhao. His small eyes carried a mischievous glint—pretending not to care but secretly observing his Father Emperor’s reaction all along. The little boy’s thoughts were written all over his face.
Seeing this unfold, Emperor Chongzhao clasped his hands together around the jujube before putting it away properly.
Only when Qu Dubian noticed this did he seem satisfied enough to turn his head away completely.
The smooth sequence of actions left Head Eunuch Yu utterly stunned.
The frustration Head Eunuch Yu initially felt dissipated instantly and gave way to admiration—eating His Majesty’s food while living under His Majesty’s roof yet managing to use His Majesty’s jujubes as leverage for favors?
If anyone ever dared claim again that Little Highness lacked tactfulness or flexibility, Head Eunuch Yu Dechai would be ready for an argument!
Hmm